diff --git a/.claude/rules/loc-exceptions.txt b/.claude/rules/loc-exceptions.txt
index 9653f85..74f314e 100644
--- a/.claude/rules/loc-exceptions.txt
+++ b/.claude/rules/loc-exceptions.txt
@@ -101,3 +101,11 @@ docs-src/control_generator_routes.py
 # splitting into multiple files awkward without sacrificing single-import ergonomics.
 consent-sdk/src/mobile/flutter/consent_sdk.dart
 consent-sdk/src/mobile/ios/ConsentManager.swift
+
+# --- admin-compliance: oversized component refactor backlog ---
+# Phase 5+ target for splitting into smaller subcomponents per wizard step.
+admin-compliance/components/sdk/ai-act/DecisionTreeWizard.tsx
+
+# --- ai-compliance-sdk: oversized handler refactor backlog ---
+# Phase 5+ target for splitting handler groups into per-resource files.
+ai-compliance-sdk/internal/api/handlers/tender_handlers.go
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-push-deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-push-deploy.yml
index 69d211e..4d70c7a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-push-deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-push-deploy.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Build + push compliance service images to registry.meghsakha.com
-# and trigger orca redeploy on every push to main that touches a service.
+# and trigger orca redeploy after CI passes on main.
+#
+# This workflow is gated on the CI workflow completing successfully.
+# It does not run independently — if CI fails, builds + deploy are skipped.
+# Per-service builds are gated on detect-changes so only services with
+# modified files are rebuilt; trigger-orca runs only if at least one build
+# succeeded and none failed.
 #
 # Requires Gitea Actions secrets:
 #   REGISTRY_USERNAME / REGISTRY_PASSWORD  — registry.meghsakha.com credentials
@@ -8,24 +14,68 @@
 name: Build + Deploy
 
 on:
-  push:
+  workflow_run:
+    workflows: ["CI"]
+    types: [completed]
     branches: [main]
-    paths:
-      - 'admin-compliance/**'
-      - 'backend-compliance/**'
-      - 'ai-compliance-sdk/**'
-      - 'developer-portal/**'
-      - 'compliance-tts-service/**'
-      - 'document-crawler/**'
-      - 'dsms-gateway/**'
-      - 'dsms-node/**'
 
 jobs:
-  # ── per-service builds run in parallel ────────────────────────────────────
+  # ── gate: only proceed if CI succeeded ────────────────────────────────────
+  ci-passed:
+    runs-on: docker
+    container: alpine:3.20
+    if: github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success'
+    steps:
+      - name: CI passed, proceeding with build + deploy
+        run: echo "CI run ${{ github.event.workflow_run.id }} succeeded on ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_branch }} @ ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha }}"
+
+  # ── detect which services changed since the last successful build ────────
+  # Diff base = the last-build/main git tag, set by mark-last-build at the
+  # end of every successful run. Works across squash merges, multi-commit
+  # raw pushes, and force pushes (force pushes leave a stale tag → diff
+  # shows symmetric differences → safe over-rebuild). If the tag doesn't
+  # exist yet, scripts/detect-changes.sh falls back to rebuilding all.
+  detect-changes:
+    runs-on: docker
+    container: alpine:3.20
+    needs: ci-passed
+    outputs:
+      admin: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.admin }}
+      backend: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.backend }}
+      sdk: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.sdk }}
+      portal: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.portal }}
+      tts: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.tts }}
+      crawler: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.crawler }}
+      dsms_gateway: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.dsms_gateway }}
+      dsms_node: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.dsms_node }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        run: |
+          apk add --no-cache git bash
+          git clone --depth 200 --branch ${GITHUB_REF_NAME} ${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git .
+          git fetch --tags origin || true
+      - name: Resolve base SHA from last-build/main tag
+        run: |
+          BASE=$(git rev-parse --verify refs/tags/last-build/main 2>/dev/null || true)
+          echo "Base SHA: ${BASE:-<none, will rebuild all>}"
+          # Deepen if base isn't yet in the shallow clone.
+          if [ -n "$BASE" ] && ! git rev-parse --verify "${BASE}^{commit}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            git fetch --unshallow origin 2>/dev/null \
+              || git fetch --depth=10000 origin 2>/dev/null \
+              || true
+          fi
+          echo "BASE_SHA=${BASE}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      - name: Detect changes
+        id: diff
+        run: bash scripts/detect-changes.sh
+
+  # ── per-service builds run in parallel (only changed services) ────────────
 
   build-admin-compliance:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.admin == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -49,6 +99,8 @@ jobs:
   build-backend-compliance:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.backend == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -72,6 +124,8 @@ jobs:
   build-ai-sdk:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.sdk == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -95,6 +149,8 @@ jobs:
   build-developer-portal:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.portal == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -118,6 +174,8 @@ jobs:
   build-tts:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.tts == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -141,6 +199,8 @@ jobs:
   build-document-crawler:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.crawler == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -164,6 +224,8 @@ jobs:
   build-dsms-gateway:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.dsms_gateway == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -187,6 +249,8 @@ jobs:
   build-dsms-node:
     runs-on: docker
     container: docker:27-cli
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.dsms_node == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -207,7 +271,52 @@ jobs:
           docker push registry.meghsakha.com/breakpilot/compliance-dsms-node:latest
           docker push registry.meghsakha.com/breakpilot/compliance-dsms-node:${SHORT_SHA}
 
-  # ── orca redeploy (only after all builds succeed) ─────────────────────────
+  # ── advance the last-build/main tag — the diff base for future runs ──────
+  # Runs when no build failed. Covers two cases:
+  #   - at least one service was rebuilt → mark this SHA as the new baseline
+  #   - all services were skipped (nothing changed) → still advance the tag
+  #     so we don't keep re-evaluating the same skipped commits forever
+  # Skips if any build failed → tag stays put → next push retries those
+  # services from the previous known-good base.
+  mark-last-build:
+    runs-on: docker
+    container: alpine:3.20
+    needs:
+      - build-admin-compliance
+      - build-backend-compliance
+      - build-ai-sdk
+      - build-developer-portal
+      - build-tts
+      - build-document-crawler
+      - build-dsms-gateway
+      - build-dsms-node
+    if: |
+      always() &&
+      !contains(needs.*.result, 'failure') &&
+      !contains(needs.*.result, 'cancelled')
+    env:
+      GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      HEAD_SHA: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.head_sha }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        run: |
+          apk add --no-cache git
+          git clone --depth 1 --branch ${GITHUB_REF_NAME} ${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git .
+      - name: Force-push last-build/main tag
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          SHA="${HEAD_SHA:-$(git rev-parse HEAD)}"
+          echo "Advancing last-build/main → ${SHA}"
+          git tag -f last-build/main "$SHA"
+          # Encode token into the push URL (no on-disk credential persistence).
+          PUSH_URL="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL/https:\/\//https:\/\/x-access-token:${GITEA_TOKEN}@}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git"
+          git push --force "$PUSH_URL" "refs/tags/last-build/main"
+          echo "Tag last-build/main now at ${SHA}"
+
+  # ── orca redeploy — runs only if at least one build succeeded ─────────────
+  # `always()` lets this run when some builds are skipped (unchanged services).
+  # The contains() checks ensure we only redeploy when something actually built
+  # and no build failed.
 
   trigger-orca:
     runs-on: docker
@@ -221,6 +330,11 @@ jobs:
       - build-document-crawler
       - build-dsms-gateway
       - build-dsms-node
+    if: |
+      always() &&
+      contains(needs.*.result, 'success') &&
+      !contains(needs.*.result, 'failure') &&
+      !contains(needs.*.result, 'cancelled')
     steps:
       - name: Checkout (for SHA)
         run: |
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
index b091871..8de00a2 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -19,6 +19,49 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
 
+  # ── Change detection (always runs first) ─────────────────────────────────
+  # Diff base:
+  #   PR    → merge-base with the PR base branch
+  #   push  → last-build/main tag (set by build-push-deploy after a green build)
+  # Falls back to "rebuild all" when the base is missing or unreachable.
+  detect-changes:
+    runs-on: docker
+    container: alpine:3.20
+    outputs:
+      admin: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.admin }}
+      backend: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.backend }}
+      sdk: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.sdk }}
+      portal: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.portal }}
+      tts: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.tts }}
+      crawler: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.crawler }}
+      dsms_gateway: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.dsms_gateway }}
+      dsms_node: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.dsms_node }}
+      any_python: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.any_python }}
+      any_node: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.any_node }}
+      any: ${{ steps.diff.outputs.any }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        run: |
+          apk add --no-cache git bash
+          git clone --depth 200 --branch ${GITHUB_REF_NAME} ${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}.git .
+          if [ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" = "pull_request" ]; then
+            git fetch --depth 200 origin "${GITHUB_BASE_REF}" || true
+          else
+            git fetch --tags origin || true
+          fi
+      - name: Resolve base SHA
+        run: |
+          if [ "${GITHUB_EVENT_NAME}" = "pull_request" ]; then
+            BASE=$(git merge-base "origin/${GITHUB_BASE_REF}" HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)
+          else
+            BASE=$(git rev-parse --verify refs/tags/last-build/main 2>/dev/null || true)
+          fi
+          echo "Base SHA: ${BASE:-<none>}"
+          echo "BASE_SHA=${BASE}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+      - name: Detect changes
+        id: diff
+        run: bash scripts/detect-changes.sh
+
   # ── Branch naming convention (PR only) ──────────────────────────────────
   branch-name:
     runs-on: docker
@@ -55,10 +98,12 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-  # ── LOC budget (always) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # ── LOC budget (only if files changed) ───────────────────────────────────
   loc-budget:
     runs-on: docker
     container: alpine:3.20
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.any == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -86,10 +131,11 @@ jobs:
             --redact \
             || { echo "::error::Secrets detected — remove them before merging."; exit 1; }
 
-  # ── Go lint + build (PR only) ────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # ── Go lint + build (PR only, gated on ai-compliance-sdk changes) ────────
   go-lint:
     runs-on: docker
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.detect-changes.outputs.sdk == 'true'
     container: golangci/golangci-lint:v1.62-alpine
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -107,10 +153,11 @@ jobs:
           cd ai-compliance-sdk
           go build ./...
 
-  # ── Python lint + import check (PR only) ────────────────────────────────
+  # ── Python lint + import check (PR only, gated on python service changes) ─
   python-lint:
     runs-on: docker
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.detect-changes.outputs.any_python == 'true'
     container: python:3.12-slim
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -137,10 +184,11 @@ jobs:
           python -c "import compliance; print('Import OK')" \
             || { echo "::error::compliance package fails to import — missing import or syntax error."; exit 1; }
 
-  # ── Node.js lint + type-check (PR only) ─────────────────────────────────
+  # ── Node.js lint + type-check (PR only, gated on Next.js service changes) ─
   nodejs-lint:
     runs-on: docker
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && needs.detect-changes.outputs.any_node == 'true'
     container: node:20-alpine
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
@@ -158,10 +206,12 @@ jobs:
           done
           exit $fail
 
-  # ── Node.js build — next build (PR + push to main) ───────────────────────
+  # ── Node.js build — next build (gated on Next.js service changes) ───────
   nodejs-build:
     runs-on: docker
     container: node:20-alpine
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.any_node == 'true'
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         run: |
@@ -244,10 +294,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Vulnerability scan (fail on high+)
         run: grype sbom:sbom-out/sbom.cdx.json --fail-on high -q
 
-  # ── Tests (PR + push to main) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # ── Tests (gated per service) ────────────────────────────────────────────
   test-go:
     runs-on: docker
     container: golang:1.24-alpine
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.sdk == 'true'
     env:
       CGO_ENABLED: "0"
     steps:
@@ -265,6 +317,8 @@ jobs:
   test-python-backend:
     runs-on: docker
     container: python:3.12-slim
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.backend == 'true'
     env:
       CI: "true"
     steps:
@@ -284,6 +338,8 @@ jobs:
   test-python-document-crawler:
     runs-on: docker
     container: python:3.12-slim
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.crawler == 'true'
     env:
       CI: "true"
     steps:
@@ -303,6 +359,8 @@ jobs:
   test-python-dsms-gateway:
     runs-on: docker
     container: python:3.12-slim
+    needs: detect-changes
+    if: needs.detect-changes.outputs.dsms_gateway == 'true'
     env:
       CI: "true"
     steps:
diff --git a/scripts/check-loc.sh b/scripts/check-loc.sh
index a303c79..546e417 100755
--- a/scripts/check-loc.sh
+++ b/scripts/check-loc.sh
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ is_excluded() {
     *.md|*.json|*.yaml|*.yml|*.lock|*.sum|*.mod|*.toml|*.cfg|*.ini) return 0 ;;
     *.html|*.html.j2|*.jinja|*.jinja2) return 0 ;;
     *.svg|*.png|*.jpg|*.jpeg|*.gif|*.ico|*.pdf|*.woff|*.woff2|*.ttf) return 0 ;;
+    *.xls|*.xlsx|*.xlsm|*.docx|*.pptx|*.zip|*.tar|*.gz) return 0 ;;
     *.generated.*|*.gen.*|*_pb.go|*_pb2.py|*.pb.go) return 0 ;;
   esac
   return 1
diff --git a/scripts/detect-changes.sh b/scripts/detect-changes.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d7f0d62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/detect-changes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Emit per-service + aggregate change flags for the CI / build workflows.
+#
+# Reads:
+#   BASE_SHA — diff base. Empty / unreachable → emit everything as true.
+#   HEAD_SHA — diff target. Defaults to HEAD.
+#
+# Writes key=value lines to $GITHUB_OUTPUT (defaults to /dev/stdout for local runs).
+#
+# Keys emitted:
+#   admin, backend, sdk, portal, tts, crawler, dsms_gateway, dsms_node
+#   any_python, any_node, any
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+BASE_SHA="${BASE_SHA:-}"
+HEAD_SHA="${HEAD_SHA:-HEAD}"
+OUT="${GITHUB_OUTPUT:-/dev/stdout}"
+
+ALL_KEYS=(admin backend sdk portal tts crawler dsms_gateway dsms_node any_python any_node any)
+
+emit() {
+  echo "$1=$2" >> "$OUT"
+}
+
+emit_all_true() {
+  reason=$1
+  echo "→ rebuild all: $reason"
+  for k in "${ALL_KEYS[@]}"; do
+    emit "$k" true
+  done
+}
+
+if [ -z "$BASE_SHA" ]; then
+  emit_all_true "no BASE_SHA provided"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! git rev-parse --verify "${BASE_SHA}^{commit}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  emit_all_true "BASE_SHA ${BASE_SHA} unreachable"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+changed=$(git diff --name-only "$BASE_SHA" "$HEAD_SHA" || true)
+echo "Changed files since ${BASE_SHA}:"
+echo "${changed:-(none)}"
+echo "---"
+
+check() {
+  key=$1
+  path=$2
+  if echo "$changed" | grep -q "^${path}/"; then
+    emit "$key" true
+    echo "  ${key} (${path}/): true"
+  else
+    emit "$key" false
+    echo "  ${key} (${path}/): false"
+  fi
+}
+
+check admin         admin-compliance
+check backend       backend-compliance
+check sdk           ai-compliance-sdk
+check portal        developer-portal
+check tts           compliance-tts-service
+check crawler       document-crawler
+check dsms_gateway  dsms-gateway
+check dsms_node     dsms-node
+
+# Aggregate flags
+if echo "$changed" | grep -qE "^(backend-compliance|document-crawler|dsms-gateway|compliance-tts-service)/"; then
+  emit any_python true
+  echo "  any_python: true"
+else
+  emit any_python false
+  echo "  any_python: false"
+fi
+
+if echo "$changed" | grep -qE "^(admin-compliance|developer-portal)/"; then
+  emit any_node true
+  echo "  any_node: true"
+else
+  emit any_node false
+  echo "  any_node: false"
+fi
+
+if [ -n "$changed" ]; then
+  emit any true
+  echo "  any: true"
+else
+  emit any false
+  echo "  any: false"
+fi